Liberty is one of 10 teams predicted by 247Sports to be one of the most lethal offenses in the country in 2021. The Flames joined the listing alongside some pretty solid company with 2021 opponent Ole Miss, Georgia, Texas, Alabama, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Clemson, Ohio State, and Kent State.
“Malik Willis is a special player at quarterback for the Flames and helped Liberty spoil Coastal Carolina’s unbeaten season in the bowl game last month,” 247Sports said of the Flames’ offense. “The former Auburn quarterback who was hand-picked by Hugh Freeze from the NCAA Transfer Portal to be the conductor of Liberty’s fun attack offensively now holds program record for most touchdowns responsible for in a season (33). He rushed for 885 yards last season and helped the Flames beat several quality opponents during their one-loss campaign.”
In addition to Willis and Freeze, the Flames return a number of key contributors from the 2020 offense that finished the year ranked No. 15 nationally in total offensive yards per game with 482.7. Liberty also finished the year ranked No. 9 with 252.4 rushing yards per game and No. 16 in scoring offense, averaging 38.2 points per game.
The Flames’ entire starting offensive line returns as does starting running back Joshua Mack and explosive back Shedro Louis. Liberty also welcomes back the team’s top three receivers and 10 of its top 11 leaders in receiving from last season. The Flames also welcome in Utah transfer running back TJ Green who is expected to add to the depth at the position.
Liberty is coming off a record campaign in 2020 when the Flames finished 10-1 following the team’s dramatic bowl win over Coastal Carolina in the Cure Bowl. The Flames also picked up the program’s first ever wins over an ACC opponent when Liberty defeated Syracuse and Virginia Tech. Those two wins made Liberty the first non-Power Five team to post a pair of wins over ACC schools in the same season since Houston did so in 2015. Liberty finished the 2020 season ranked No. 17 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll and No. 18 in the Amway Coaches Poll, the highest ever ranking for the Flames as an FBS program.
Liberty will open the 2021 season at home on Sept. 4 against Campbell. The Flames will host five more home games throughout the season: Old Dominion (Sept. 18), Middle Tennessee (Oct. 9), UMass (Oct. 30), Louisiana (Nov. 20), and Army (Nov. 27).
